Research projects

Dr Michael Samuel has been interested in science since he was young, having first been inspired by his grandfather who taught him all about glass lenses and light. He now uses advanced microscopy techniques in his work as a cancer biologist. Outside of the lab, Dr Samuel enjoys playing music – he plays the piano, violin, and the organ!

Breast tumours recruit healthy cells, called fibroblasts, that help the tumour grow and the cancer to spread to other parts of the body. Previous research by Dr Samuel and his team identified that a protein in cancer cells, called ROCK, drives progression of the disease by recruiting fibroblasts to the tumour. They have also discovered that the “stiffness” of the environment around the tumour is controlled by the ROCK protein, and this can contribute to tumour progression. In addition, most breast cancers that progress and spread around the body seem to have a lot of ROCK protein.

The researchers now aim to understand how the ROCK protein interacts with the “stiffness” of the tumour to help it grow and spread. They will use a mouse model of breast cancer to test whether blocking this interaction with antibodies can prevent breast cancer progression. If successful, the team hopes that their findings could be investigated further as drug targets to treat the growth and spread of breast cancer.